brown bar

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English

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Etymology

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From the insignia of rank.

Noun

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brown bar (plural brown bars)

  1. (US, military, slang) A second lieutenant.
    • 1978, The MAC Flyer, page 25:
      Making a rather astute deduction from the fact that the brown bar in white fatigues was loaded down with a huge bottle of clear liquid and an assortment of tubes and needles, []
    • 1991, Keith William Nolan, Operation Buffalo: USMC Fight for the DMZ, page 118:
      Afterward, Lindenmeyer made his way over to Lieutenant Turchan's radioman who, considering the brown-bar's greenness, almost appeared to be running the platoon.